USAID’s Somali Youth Learners Initiative (SYLI) aims to support the next generation of Somali leaders by expanding access to quality secondary education opportunities for over 160,000 youth. Through SYLI, the Federal Government of Somalia and regional Ministry of Education officials receive support in strengthening secondary education, teachers participate in trainings to enhance their classroom skills, and youth gain access to economic opportunities, enabling them to become responsible members of society that contribute to their communities.

A U.S. delegation, led by USAID Acting Administrator Alfonso E. Lenhardt, visits Nepal to meet with GoN officials and USAID partners, participate in an aerial survey of affected districts, and observe the distribution of emergency relief supplies. Joint USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and U.S. military aerial assessments of affected areas rendered inaccessible by landslides and debris began on May 4. Despite road blockages and mountainous terrain, aid is beginning to reach critical areas identified by the GoN.

Aircraft from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) have arrived in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu to help transport emergency relief supplies and humanitarian personnel to remote villages, particularly those made inaccessible by landslides or debris since the April 25 earthquake. USAID/OFDA is providing $500,000 to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to support humanitarian coordination and information management efforts for the Nepal earthquake response.

The Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) distributes plastic sheeting provided by USAID/OFDA to earthquake-affected households in Kathmandu District’s Sankhu village and surrounding areas. The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Humanitarian Assessment Survey Team (JHAST) are working with Nepalese authorities and relief organizations in Nepal to determine needs for logistical support.

In coordination with Nepalese authorities, the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) conducts a live rescue in Kathmandu. Heavy-duty plastic sheeting from USAID/OFDA arrives in Nepal to support the critical shelter needs of earthquake-affected communities. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos travels to Nepal to assess the humanitarian situation and ongoing rescue and relief efforts.

Advances in science have made it possible to end the AIDS epidemic by increasing access to HIV testing and antiretroviral medications among individuals facing the greatest risk of infection. In many countries across Asia and the Pacific, the greatest proportion of new HIV infections each year occur among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women, yet the number of people in these populations accessing HIV services remains very low. With funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Agency for International Development Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA) works to control the epidemic by using better methods to reach, test, treat and retain in clinical services for MSM and transgender women.

USAID/OFDA is airlifting 700 rolls of heavy-duty plastic sheeting to Nepal, which will address the critical shelter needs of up to 35,000 earthquake-affected people. The UN launched a $415 million flash funding appeal for humanitarian response efforts in Nepal, including food, health, and shelter assistance, as well as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) support. Rescue and relief operations are underway in nine of the 11 most severely affected districts, the UN reports.

New EVD cases continue decreasing in Guinea and Sierra Leone, but at slower rate Government of Guinea (GoG) authorities and EVD response actors launch a four-day EVD detection and prevention campaign in Coyah Prefecture WHO reports first confirmed EVD case in Sierra Leone’s Koinadugu District since mid-March

The nearly 130-member USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) arrived in Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu on April 28 to support emergency response efforts in cooperation with the Government of Nepal (GoN). USAID/OFDA is contributing $10 million in humanitarian assistance for earthquake response operations.

Relief efforts in response to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck central Nepal on April 25 are underway in Nepal and other affected countries. The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)–comprising nearly 130 humanitarian and urban search-and-rescue (USAR) personnel—are en route to Nepal. USAID/OFDA announced an additional $9 million to support emergency relief operations in Nepal, bringing total USAID funding to $10 million as of April 27.